Amazon's first smart alarm clock has no camera and can wake you at a lighter point in your sleep. The best trick needs a subscription, though.
Amazon's Echo Time is a camera-free smart alarm clock that costs $199 in the US, or $210 for a kids version that includes a year of Kids+ and Sleep Studio. UK and Canadian pricing hasn't been announced.
It is a solid upgrade over the old Echo Spot for Alexa homes, but the best feature costs extra. If you just want an alarm and music, a cheaper Echo Dot does the job.
Amazon’s first true alarm clock costs $199, and its headline trick is waking you up before your alarm goes off, on purpose. The new Echo Time listens for the rhythm of your sleep with an ultrasonic sensor and, if you let it, starts nudging you awake when you drift into a lighter phase.
So what is the Echo Time price, and is it worth it? In the US the standard model is $199, and a kids version is $210. Amazon has not announced UK or Canadian pricing. That makes it a big step up from a plain Echo Dot, and the cleverest sleep feature needs an Alexa+ subscription on top. Here is what you get, what costs extra and who should buy one.
The Echo Time price is $199 for the standard model in the US, with some listings rounding that to $200. Amazon launched it alongside a refreshed Echo Dot, a new Echo Studio with a camera, a redesigned Echo Show 16 and its first photo frame.
Availability reports differ a little. Amazon says the clock is available to order now, while one early report says shipping starts in December. If you want it under a tree, order early and check the delivery date at checkout.
Echo Time is a small, rounded Alexa speaker with a round display built for the bedside. It has hundreds of clock faces, including analog and digital styles and themed designs from franchises such as Harry Potter, Scooby-Doo and the DC Universe. At night the screen can dim to below 0.3 nits, which is very faint, so it should not light up a dark room.
The light is part of the sleep routine. The clock can brighten gradually in the morning to help you wake and cut blue light in the evening to help you wind down, much like popular sunrise clocks such as the Hatch. You also get a choice of alarm tones.
There is no camera at all. With Amazon putting a camera into its new Echo Studio, that will matter to anyone wary of tech in the bedroom.
This is the feature that sets it apart. Echo Time uses an ultrasonic transducer, essentially a tiny sonar, along with motion and room temperature sensors, to estimate when you are sleeping lightly. Tell Alexa+ when you need to be up, and it can start waking you during a lighter part of your sleep cycle, anywhere from ten minutes to an hour before your set time.
One early report describes a looser version: an hour-long window around your wake time, where the clock may let you sleep a bit longer if you’re in deep sleep or wake you early if your sleep is no longer restful. Either way, treat it as a weekend feature. If you have a flight or a fixed start time, keep a hard alarm too.
The $199 buys the hardware, the clock faces, the light routines and standard alarms. The smart wake feature needs Alexa+, Amazon’s paid AI assistant tier. If you don’t already pay for it, that is a recurring cost on top of the clock, and it is the main reason to buy this over a cheaper speaker.
The kids model works differently. Its $210 price includes a year of Kids+ and Sleep Studio, Amazon’s bedtime-routine tools, and parents can manage the clock from their own account. Check what those services cost once the free year ends.
If you own an Echo Spot, the Echo Time is its natural successor. It costs more, but it does more: on top of the bedside screen and speaker, it doubles as a smart home hub. It supports Zigbee and Matter devices and acts as a Thread border router, the bridge that lets newer low-power smart home gadgets talk to your network.
That makes it a reasonable choice for a bedroom in a home that already runs on Alexa. For a basic alarm with a speaker, the new Echo Dot at about $99 is cheaper. The Echo Time earns its price only if you want the sleep features, the hub or both.
Before buying, check whether you will keep paying for Alexa+. Without it, the Echo Time is a well-designed clock speaker; with it, it becomes the sleep gadget Amazon is selling.
It costs $199 in the US. The Echo Time Kids costs $210 and includes a year of Kids+ and Sleep Studio.
No. It has no camera. It uses an ultrasonic sensor, motion and temperature readings to track sleep for the smart wake feature.
Not for basic use. The smart wake feature, which times your alarm to lighter sleep, requires an Alexa+ subscription.
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